All I Ever Wanted
by kaly
Summary: Alan loved watching Billy. JP3 fic, post-movie. Alan/Billy.


Title: All I Ever Wanted  
Author: kaly  
Rating: PG  
Word Count: 1425  
Characters/Pairing: Alan/Billy  
Category: fluff  
Warnings: none  
Spoilers: yes, minor Summary: Alan loved watching Billy.

Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing, no money earned.

Note: Thank you to geminigrl11 for the beta.

All I Ever Wanted

Alan loved watching Billy when the younger man wasn't aware of it. It had taken a long time before he felt comfortable enough to do so, even after they had finally admitted how they felt about one another. However, time had brought familiarity and comfort, and Alan no longer let himself care what anyone else might think.

Life was too short to hide behind his own fears, much less others' prejudices. A forsaken journey across Isla Sorna had taught Alan that, even if it had taken quite a while longer for him to accept it. They didn't flaunt their relationship, but neither did they hide anymore.

Not to say that it had always been easy. Not between him and Billy - two more stubborn men had possibly never been born - much less some friends and colleagues and dig workers who had been shocked, to say the least. They had persevered, though, and after a while the comments died off and Alan didn't feel quite so much like the world was against him - them.

In fact, those they cared about were genuinely happy for them. Alan had been scared to death to tell Ellie most of all, but his fears had been for naught when she had laughed joyously and hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe. Billy had received a similar greeting when he had arrived, plainly nervous, only minutes later.

And in the end, all that had mattered was Alan had found something he hadn't known he wanted. Something he certainly hadn't been looking for, but couldn't imagine life without. He had thought his life full and complete before, and in a way it had been, but not entirely. Not that he would say that out loud - he didn't want to confirm how much of a clich he had become.

At the moment, however, Billy was several yards away, laying on the ground beside a fossil they had just begun to unearth. It was too soon to confirm species or age, but it showed promise. And as with any find he worked, Billy was focused, completely oblivious to everyone and everything else around him. He was still, peaceful, in a way that the ever-energetic man rarely was.

It was one of Alan's favorite ways to see Billy. Billy's fingers ghosting over the bones, pick and brush within easy reach. He was as enthralled as Alan watched, as he had been during his first summer on the dig. Alan smiled; sometimes it seemed surreal he had known Billy that long, since he was an overeager graduate student, totally in love with his degree. And so very young.

Older now, wiser, Billy was still the free spirit Alan had first met. Not even nearly dying had dimmed Billy's love of his work, of dinosaurs, and Alan loved him all the more for it.

He watched as Billy absently reached up and rubbed his shoulder, seeing Billy wince as he did so. It was a familiar gesture, one Alan hated. Or rather, hated what it signified.

Of all the injuries Billy had sustained on the island - and there were many - his shoulder had been the most grievous. So much so that, at one point, the doctors had feared Billy regaining full use of his left arm. The worst hadn't come to pass, though, Billy having pursued his physical therapy with a determined vengeance that had worried Alan at the time.

Alan knew the scars his lover bore almost as well as Billy himself did, almost better than he knew his own. The years in-between had dulled them, faded them, but they would never fully disappear. And as much as Billy had sought to hide them early on, Alan wouldn't have it any other way.

They were a permanent - if horribly unfortunate - reminder of what hubris and hate could bring. It was a lesson Alan never wanted to forget. It had almost cost him too much to learn.

He spared a glance toward the west, eyes scanning the clouds on the horizon. They looked innocent enough, but Alan had come to trust Billy's ability to predict when the weather would turn south. It had only taken a few storms, once Billy was well on the mend, to put two and two together, and get four.

The deep puncture wound that had almost cost Billy his life and his mobility had healed, only to become as accurate a weather barometer as Alan had ever seen. Without question, Alan trusted it more than any gadget. Aside from the occasional ache due to overuse, if Billy's shoulder was troubling him, they had trouble of a different sort ahead.

Shaking him head, focusing on the matter at hand, he called out, "Billy!" When the younger man twisted, looking over his shoulder, squinting, Alan continued, "Pack it up."

Billy looked confused for a moment, before he glanced at his hand - which was still massaging his shoulder - and then the clouds which were quickly gathering. A second later, he grimaced. "I'll take this part, you get the others."

Alan nodded his agreement, turning away from the eastern half of the dig where Billy had begun barking orders to several students. The other part of the dig had more workers, and Alan walked briskly down the main aisle, calling out commands and not pausing to see if they were adhered to. They had all been on the dig long enough to know what to do without having their hands held.

In turn, Alan took a section that had been uncovered, but was presently unmanned. The faintest outline of a nest was hidden among the rock, just waiting to be completely unearthed. Carefully, Alan pulled the tarp tight over the pegs, double checking that the edges were secured so that the rain - and hail, were there any - wouldn't reach the eggs.

He had just finished when a hand slid over his shoulder, causing Alan to turn. Billy smiled, his dimples flashing briefly. "Beats checking the radar, huh?"

Alan's mouth quirked in a smile, thankful that Billy could find the humor in the situation. "You haven't been wrong yet." He glanced across the dig, seeing it almost deserted. "Everything taken care of?"

"All tucked away," Billy replied with a nod, dropping his hand from Alan's shoulder. Before he could pull away, however, Alan grasped it in his own. The gesture - one he wouldn't have dreamed of making a couple of years before - was met with a warm smile that twisted Alan's stomach. "Gang's all in the mess tent. Some of them mentioned going into town tonight since we're wrapping up early."

There was a hopeful tint to Billy's eyes that Alan knew without a doubt had nothing to do with going into town. Acknowledging he was aware of that, Alan said, "Might be pretty quiet tonight, then."

"Sounds like." Billy tugged on Alan's hand. "Come on, before all the food's gone. Bottomless pits, all of them, I swear."

Alan chuckled, unable to disagree. It was alarming how fast a busy dig could go through food supplies, and this group was proving no exception. Stopping, he waited for Billy to turn back to him, a confused look on his face. Alan stepped close, the brim of his hat brushing Billy's hair.

For a few seconds, he just looked at his lover, content. Then, he ghosted his free hand over Billy's damaged shoulder. "How about, once everything's quiet, I take care of this for you?" He knew from experience how tight and painful the joint would be until the worst of the storm was past.

"I'd like that," Billy replied, his voice husky. The soft expression on his face shifted quickly, though, replaced by mischief, one eyebrow quirking. "Got anything I could give you a hand with? You know, repay the favor?"

Laughing, Alan kissed Billy quickly before patting him on the cheek. "I'm sure you can think of something."

Never one to pass up a challenge - a trait Alan played on shamelessly at times - Billy grinned, his eyes promising a most interesting evening. "Maybe even a couple of somethings."

Alan shook his head as thunder rolled in the distance. God how he loved the man. Tugging on Billy's hand to get them moving again, Alan could only hope it showed on his face. Judging by Billy's nod, it did.

Instead of flowery words, however, Alan just tilted his head. "Good man."

end


End file.
